Scouts look to attend Jamboree

December 3, 2012

EPHRATAH - Two local Scouts from the Sir William Johnson Boy Scout District have been selected to participate in the 2015 World Scout Jamboree.

The pair - 12-year-old Dallis Green and 11-year-old Makayla Gray - are holding a recycling drive to raise the money needed to attend.

The World Scout Jamboree will be held in Kirara-hama, Yamaguchi City, Japan, from July 28 to Aug. 8, 2015. The trip will cost the girls $4,000 each, Makayla's mother, Sara Gray, said.

Article Photos

Makayla Gray, left, and Dallis Green are shown in this undated photo. The pair are raising money to attend the World Scout Jamboree in Japan in 2015.Photo submitted

While at the event, the girls will meet over 30,000 other Scouts from around the world from over 40 other countries.

Green and Gray are in a new pilot program through the Junior Explorer Club Post 2335, which is under Boy Scouts of America and is open to boys and girls in sixth to eighth grade, Sara Gray said.

Makayla Gray said she became interested in the World Scout Jamboree after her brother Brent attended the event in Sweden in 2011.

"After my brother went to Sweden, he was talking about it and I really wanted to see the things they do in other countries and see the culture," Makayla Gray said. "There are a whole bunch of activities that happen during the Jamboree too, like scuba diving."

The two Scouts were looking for ways to generate money for the trip and found two companies that will provide cash for certain recycled items.

"We wanted to make the world a better place because waste like this normally goes in the ground," Makayla Gray said. "We wanted to see the things we could recycle to not have so much stuff in the dirt."

One of the companies is TerraCycle, which provides free waste collection programs for hard-to-recycle materials that will then be turned into affordable green products. The other company is CC Cash USA, which is in the business of recycling cell phones, toner cartridges, inkjets, laptops and iPods.

The items the girls will be collecting to raise money for the trip include inkjet and toner cartridges, potato chip bags, candy wrappers and electronics such as laptops and cell phones.

Sara Gray said the girls started the fundraiser a month ago and have earned about $300.

She said it took a little while to spread the word of what they were doing, but now they are seeing a steady number of contributions. She said the money per item varies but usually ranges between 2 cents and $25, depending on what is being recycled.

If anyone would like to support their effort, the girls can drop off a recycling box at any location and come to pick up these items at regularly scheduled times, Sara Gray said.

A donation also can be made by contacting Jessie Viteo at 568-5697 or calling Bruce or Sara Gray at 762-7383 for a pickup. Any checks can be made payable to Sara Gray.